Album Review: Isolated Antagonist - Affirmation Of Entropy Reviewed by: Alan Lisanti

Isolated Antagonist

Title: Affirmation Of Entropy

Album Review Format: MP3

Date Of Release: February 16, 2016

Record Label: Bluntface Records

Genre: Sci-Fi Metal/Industrial Metal

Website: https://www.facebook.com/isolatedantagonist/

Reviewed by: Alan Lisanti

Tracklist: 1. Into The Dark

                  2. Void

                  3. Trapped

                  4. Receptor

                  5. New Light Now Made

                  6. The Archetype Defined

                  7. Dark Nomad

                  8. The Infernos Son

                  9. Words Beyond Time

                10. The Protagonist Denied

                11. Affirmation Of Entropy

                12. The Last Death

                13. Gather The Past

                14. Prototype For Babylon

                15. Celestial

Affirmation Of Entropy is the second offering from Isolated Antagonist. If 90's throwback Industrial Metal was the bands aim, as others have suggested, than the band hits their mark without question. If you were a fan of early Fear Factory, or even Demanufacture/Remanufacture era Fear Factory, than this release should be right up your alley. The music, and synths, as well as the combination of effects with the variations of both members vocals creates an atmospheric and layered sound that invokes a sort of futuristic dystopian sensibility. This is clearly intentional, and I suppose the name is fitting in this regard. This comes across just in the sound and overall feeling created by the combination of sounds in the songs. As it turns out, lyrically and thematically, the story and concept of this album is based around exactly that idea. This is the story of the last man left on Earth, and how he faces that reality. The concept is an interesting one, and is brought to life in the songs. While the Synth work clearly plays a key role in providing the backdrop for some sort of futuristic bleakness in the sound, there are times where it seems a bit too overpowering. However there are also times where it seems to be exactly what the song calls for. There are times where both the clean and harsh vocals are very reminiscent of Burton C. Bell's work, but there are also times where both are more unique and don't really sound like him at all. The Archetype Defined, has some of the more interesting riff work. Receptor, and Words Beyond Time also stand out as they are a bit more out of the norm from some of the other songs. That's a good thing. Besides being a bit too long with a total of 15 songs, I'm sure if Industrial Metal is your thing, you'll appreciate the bands efforts and execution. Affirmation Of Entropy is out now on Bluntface Records.

Rating: 7.5 out of 10 horns